It has been four years since Finnish Symphonic Power Metal band Sonata Arctica have graced our ears with Metal. They’d been on an acoustic tear for awhile, but are coming back with a “Power Metal laden album” in early 2024. I will have that review of the album ASAP, but for now here’s a promising new single to whet your appetite. Listen down below and let me know what you think in the comments!
Frontman Tony Kakko explains: “This is the first power metal song I wrote for the forthcoming album which is laden with them. Its demo title was ‘First In Line’ and I managed to stick with it. The song handles the worry about raising a new generation of people with or rather letting an electronic screen – namely tv, pad or some such – do a big part of raising this generation of human beings. We think that we buy ourselves time with these gadgets, but are these devices the right “nanny” for our kids or should we maybe slow down a bit, read books, teach that happiness can be and often is something we reach by stopping and letting go of constant stimulation of all our audiovisual senses? In ways, we are flying blindly with these things. Things are advancing too fast in many ways…”
I love this concept and totally reflect the sentiment of needing to slow down time in this modern world. I love this band and this song just cements everything I love about them.
My most anticipated release of the year has finally graced my inbox: Bleed Out by Dutch Modern Symphonic Metal band Within Temptation is here after four years since the trailblazing “Resist”, and it is here to ravage you audibly. Some background for those not familiar with Symphonic Metal or this band has somehow evaded their Youtube feeds: Within Temptation is a Dutch Symphonic Metal band with Gothic and Pagan themes forming in 1996 with couple Sharon Den Adel and Robert Westerholt. This band is a mainstay of the genre with repeated hit albums and bombastic melodic singles. They weave complex orchestrals with Operatic vocals and Pop hooks with staggering emotion and deep lyrics. WT has a song for everyone from classics like “Mother Earth”, “Faster”, “Angels”, and “Paradise (What About Us) featuring Tarja”. They’re one of the most successful Symphonic Metal bands of all time. They have several Platinum selling records and continue to sell out big arenas such as Wembley Stadium. This band has nothing to prove to anyone, but continue to shape shift and surprise. They are uncompromising. They are incomparable. “Bleed Out” is a perfect follow up to the modernization of “Resist”. Regardless of numerous lineup and sound changes, this band is a cornerstone of Modern Metal and I find it a travesty how often they are overlooked.
When I first heard the singles from “Bleed Out”, I was severely underwhelmed and disappointed with the recording quality. The guitars were incredibly muddy and over compressed. The singles had promise, but were overshadowed with modern overproduction, a common problem with Metal albums these days. But, upon first listen of the whole album in Ultra High Definition, I was immediately proven wrong and absolutely blown away. This album is insanely well mastered and balanced. While this is the lowest tuned album, it is the absolute heaviest and raw album this band has ever put out. It is very politically charged, which I am not necessarily a fan of, but it reflects the state of the world in a very dark way and it is something not a lot of bands will do. I disagree that politics should have a place in music and media in general, because politics are personal, but whatever fuels creativity can’t be all that bad as long as it is done tastefully and respectfully. I am vastly impressed with the blending of genres, “Djenty” guitar goodness while keeping beautiful and clear vocals, it is something I never expected to hear. And ultimately, the genre bending works very well for them. While it is far from being my favorite album from them, it has some fantastic moments. “Don’t Pray For Me” is just a fantastically well written track with interesting layers of vocals and booming guitars. The slow buildup of vocal power is brilliant. The title track is one of my favorite songs of the year and dumbfounded me with how heavy it is. I never would’ve guessed Within Temptation would go this heavy. It is a new sound for them, as if Resist was taken to the absolute extreme and found Progressive Metalcore. They pull off this sound and sometimes simplistic song structure, because Sharon Den Adel’s vocals continue to dominate 90% of anything else that is out there and in any genre. You simply cannot find a more well-rounded versatile vocalist that can make anything sound special. “Bleed Out” is absolutely worth a listen, because while it is short, it’ll definitely stick in your head for weeks after.
Swedish Power Metallers, Bloodbound have cemented themselves in the realm of Classic Power Metal exhibiting heavy riffs, huge hooks, and powerful vocals. This band holds steadfast out to prove Power Metal is not dead, and I am a firm believer in this notion. Power Metal is the single handed most under rated sub genre in the Rock and Metal word; It’s almost criminal how talented these bands are, and yet they are overlooked constantly. Power Metal is considered cheesy and repetitive to stubborn elitists, but the genre shield walls and prevails with albums like Tales of The North.
Tales of The North is a Viking Folk inspired Power Metal album that infuses speedy riffs that would make Amon Amarth proud. This album piles up on double bass, melodic leads, and catchy hooks that remind me of classic Gamma Ray and Helloween. The vocals from Patrik Selleby are cleanly sublime with a soothing pitch and perfectly clear diction. This album is bound to stick in your head and fuel you to battle that 5:00 rush hour traffic. It sends you back in time, but keeps with the modern Power Metal sound. From drinking songs, to pillaging songs, to tributes to Odin this album holds true to the Viking theme without being pretentious or cheesy. Odin’s Prayer is a perfect track for those big arena or festival shows, along with sing along songs like Drink With The Gods and The Raven’s Cry. Tales of The North is and was set out to be a classic Heavy Metal brought to Modern Power Metal and refined for a full listening experience, and they’ve achieved an epic album. Is this the Power Metal album of the year? Time will tell.
Rating: 8/10
Tales From The North track listing: 01. Tales From The North 02. Drink with the Gods 03. Odin´s Prayer 04. The Raven´s Cry 05. Mimir`s Crystal Eye 06. Between The Enemy Lines 07. Land Of Heroes 08. Sail Among The Dead 09. Stake My Claims 10.Sword And Axe 11. 1066
BLOODBOUND is: Tomas Olsson – lead guitar Fredrik Bergh – keyboards Patrik Selleby – vocals Henrik Olsson – rhythm guitar Anders Broman – bass Daniel Hansfeldt – drums
Man, is it just me or are women in Metal absolutely dominating the vocal world right now? With bands like Spiritbox, Entheos, and Crypta all coming out and conjuring the most brutal music right now, it’s hard not to feel like we are in the New Renaissance of Music right now. I love foaming about female singers in Metal, so a couple of years ago I started making compilation videos of them hitting absolutely insane high notes. You can watch all three below from the links. But, I need help for the next episodes! Please send me videos containing super high notes hit by any singer in Metal LIVE and I will feature them!
Send me the videos or clips to Metalvalkyrie@yahoo.com or comment links below on this post!
Danish Death Doom band, Saturnus, has done something incredible this year. They have put out an album that has left me speechless, which is a feat since I never shut up about music. My reviews have been sparse lately, as I think reviews are becoming more and more trivial. This is not a formal review, but a write-up to honor one of the year’s best albums. I don’t listen to a lot of Death-Doom, but Saturnus is one of my exceptions. I decided to write about this band and album as I don’t see many posts about them and I have no clue as to why they don’t have more listeners.
Saturnus began in Copenhagen as Asesino in 1991 by vocalist Thomas A.G. Jensen and bassist, Brian Hansen as a typical Black Metal band. In 1993, their sound changed and their name became Saturnus to match their switch to Gothic Doom Metal with a Melodeath twist. This sound has been marinating with classic albums like Veronika Decides to Die and Saturn in Ascension. Their records have solidified their sound and made them incredibly underrated in the Death Doom genre which has exploded with hundreds of new bands since Paradise Lost blazed a new trail. Now, we have bands like Saturnus mixing old Death Metal, Doom, and Melodeath like Insomnium creating a whole new sound. They have come a long way since 1991, 32 years ago, believe it or not, and their latest short but epic record, The Storm Within, is a testament to their growth and building legacy.
The Storm Within is a fifty-nine-minute journey through the human condition or psyche. It is a provocative, emotional, and daring feat that is all-consuming. Those fifty-nine minutes will either seem to last mere minutes or a lifetime. It is not just an album, but a Doom movement. I say this because of the reflective breakdowns of spoken word, emotive, piano, and gorgeous melodic guitar lines right before crushing guttural growls. It is poetry in Doom. The title track opens and sets the entire mood, but you never know what to expect next. You can settle into it as a mood, but the music can throw you off and surprise you in an instant. It builds, crashes, and plummets into the depth of despair, and then lifts you into a higher consciousness. It changes but effortlessly flows together. This is the exact sound that any new and upcoming Death Doom band should strive for.
Truth is the final track of the album, marking the end of the journey, but showing more growth than ever. Whoever played the piano on this record is simply genial. It fits Death Doom perfectly while sounding so classical on Truth. There is something very Draconian about this track and the acoustics building into this guttural chest-rattling growl with arpeggios on keys is a shocking moment in music I may never forget. I don’t know much about this band and their influences or history, but this song tells me everything I need to know about how brilliant they are.
If you listen to this record all the way through, you will come out of it a changed person. Genres be damned, this album is perfection. I love everything they did with it. I love the departures and the classic Saturnus sounds. I love the drum sounds, they remind me of Summoning’s folk style with massive reverb. I love the different influences, almost some Bardcore in there which is unexpected. I love the guttural aspects and distortion but the refinement of it. It is a Death Doom record that is a must-hear this year.
For fans of Paradise Lost, Agalloch, Insomnium, and Swallow the Sun.
I was on vacation last week and didn’t have time to update the blog. My family and I went to Las Cruces, New Mexico for a week off. It was a much needed break filled with nature and relaxation. Before that, I attended Eluveitie, Omnium Gatherum, and Seven Spires in Denver. I planned to write up a review on it, but honestly words fail to describe how musically perfect, emotional, and spiritual that show was. Eluveitie now stands as the best band I have ever seen live. They were note perfect, despite missing three members (Chrigel, Nicole, and Kay). So for now, here’s new music you must hear this week.
This year has already brought us so great much music, I can hardly keep up with it all.. Below is most of the awesome releases that dropped for new music Friday! Have a merry metal weekend!
Very few front men in the Prog genre are as highly regarded Tom Englund of Evergrey, Redemption, and a hundred other projects. He is a chemist of blending heavy guitar tone with emotional melodies. Redemption is one of the most popular Prog acts of the last two decades, but has not managed to become stale. Englund and guitarist Nick Van Dyk don’t focus on being diverse or reinventing themselves, and yet the music doesn’t become repetitive like some Prog bands tend to have a formula. It’s crazy Progressive Metal, harrowing from the classic Prog bands like Genesis. Me being the least fan of Genesis, I have never listened to Redemption before. I love Prog, but I am extremely picky with the genre (and all music to be honest). So 2023 album, I Am The Storm, is my introduction into the massive world of Redemption. My expectations for this album were nonexistent as I expected utter musical chaos like Genesis, Dream Theater, and Symphony X. As much as this album is typical musical masturbation, it is also filled with the melodic genius of England and keyboardist Vikram Shankar.
“I Am the Storm” is a bombastic, passionate, technically astounding album that is not to be digested with one listen. This is an emotionally and musically complex album that demands your attention. Van Dyk and Englund command the airwaves with every note either punching you in the face or soaring through your gut. It combines Iron Maiden, Genesis, Power, Prog, and Thrash all blending seamlessly throughout each track. Songs like the title track and “Seven Minutes From Sunset” hammer down with heavy Prog Metal guitars and rhythmic sections, breaking down into virtuoso guitar and keyboard solos. “Resilience” screams Petrucci amd Portnoy chemistry into “shreddy” soloing and a catchy vocal line. Englund might not have an enormous range, but his utter power into a tone heavy vocal can become so addictive. The highlight of the album, for me, is not the crazy guitar solos or loud technical prowess, it is the ballad of the album. “The Emotional Depiction of Light” is a hugely complex emotional track that is a must listen track of 2023. There is something so immensely haunting and grabbing about this track with the piano intro and soft vocals, building into an absolutely wailing track. To build up a song such as this takes immense restraint and musical ambition. It is pure emotional expression, and that is what I like to hear in Prog Metal.
Overall, this album is absolutely another Prog masterpiece that Redemption probably always puts out. It has everything a 10/10 Prog Metal record should have. “I Am The Storm” is musical mastery and emotive complexity perfectly. Does it show ingenuity or invention? No, in most ways it is what Dream Theater has been doing for almost four decades as well as dozens of other Prog Metal bands. Musically, while the technicality is vastly impressive, the musical masturbation is a huge turn off for me. Musical Masturbation is a term my brilliant older brother came up with to describe bands like Dream Theater where every break from vocals is a solo. It’s where subtlety and airiness die in music, allowing no time for the listener to digest and feel something other than an onslaught of notes. If this is not your thing either, Redemption is not for you. If you can’t get enough of virtuoso abilities and crazy musical changes, this album is going to absolutely blow you away.
Newly signed to Frontiers Records, Hard Rock band Demons Down is bringing back old 1980’s hooks and Arena sized reverb with brand new album “I Stand” (out March 10th). Frontiers Records strives to bring back the catchiness and epic sounds of 1980s Hard Rock and Metal one band at a time. Demons Down is a sign that this wide stereo sound is here to stay forever. Fronted by Chilean born multi faceted vocalist, James Robledo, the band has planted into its roots with Iron Maiden, Queensryche, and Quiet Riot. He has the vibrato of Bruce, the heavy and aggressiveness of Kevin Dubrow, and the clean soars of Jeff Scott Soto. The band has its influences coming from former Quiet Riot bassist, Chuck Wright, who was partially responsible for Bang Your Head in the 1980s. This band maybe new, but their chemistry is ancient history.
“I Stand” sounds like its right of the 1980s and early 1990s with uncompromising heavy metal themes made to pump you up. It is simplistic yet massive in sound. The solos, vocals, bass guitar, and ringing rhythms fill up the space without playing musical masturbation. As far as Debut Albums go, Demons Down has made an enormous statement of who they are and what they plan to accomplish with their music. Songs like I Stand, Disappear, and Follow Me come in hot and hard with Arena sound that is making its way back to popularity. This album is very Melodic, which is not what I expected. I would’ve liked some more crunch in the guitars and some bigger drum fills to break up that nostalgia and stay modern. If you’re looking for grit or chuggy guitars, this album is not for you. But, if you want straight up Hard Rock to sing along to, these guys really deliver. I am interested to see what their live performances bring and what they do with follow up albums.
Sven de CaluwePhil LanzonRoel van HeldenNiilo SevänenJørgen MunkebyBjorn StridMyrkurAsim SearahHenri SattlerFrank SchiphorstFleshgod ApocalypseTommy KarevikCharlotte Wessels
Here are all the announced guests on the upcoming Epica collaboration album! I am pleasantly surprised by the familiar faces and know this will be an absolutely incredible record. According to lead singer Simone Simons, the album is expected to be released this December. This concept is a complete surprise to me, because it’s a very modern approach. It seems to be a more mainstream venture from the band, just based on the guests and new song performed on the 20th Anniversary show with singer and Saxophonist, Jørgen Munkeby from Shining. I listed all the guests in the captions on the photos. Below is a comprehensive list with songs so you can see what each guest sounds like!
Metal Valkyrie 